The Lessons of Losing

My son Chase and his football team kicked off their season on Sunday. Weeks of long hard practices had finally led up to a game. The results were not what the kids or fans were hoping for. A 35-0 loss. As a parent, you know that you can't always win, in sports or in life. But to a group of 11-year-olds a game like Sunday's can be tough to take. But it can also teach some important lessons.

After the game, I asked Chase what happened and his reply was predictable. "We got our butts kicked." He seemed a bit down and dejected, but I pointed out a couple of plays where he did a good job and then tried to move on to other topics. Don't dwell on the loss. Focus on more positive things. The same can be said about a win too. Don't focus on what happened, look at what you can do to get better, win or lose.

I've always told Chase that I want him to play and do what he likes. Have fun playing sports. He's at the point in athletics where it can begin to seem like work. A job. And while I'm not suggesting that greatness can be achieved without hard work, there still has to be some fun involved too. Chase still has fun playing football, and I'm guessing most of his teammates still do too.

After a rough game, it's always tough to see the bright side. Chase was already wondering if next week's opponent would be even tougher. I told him that as long as they prepared and played hard it doesn't matter what the final score is. But try telling that to an 11 year old.